Utilities incentivize curtailment of energy usage during certain high load periods to increase the ability of the utilities to meet a larger demand or to minimize production costs. For example, in summer months, peak energy usage may occur on hot days in the late afternoon. A utility may offer an incentive to a factory to reduce energy usage during the late afternoon. In response, the factory may delay a high load production run until later in the evening, turn down the air-conditioning in the factory, or otherwise reduce energy use. In this manner, the utility may increase its ability to meet energy demands during the peak energy usage and/or avoid producing or purchasing additional energy to meet the energy demands.
The curtailment in energy usage during peak or high load periods may be referred to generally as demand response (DR). The energy usage curtailment during a specified time period may be referred to as a DR event. DR events generally occur when a utility expects a high demand and asks customers to reduce or curtail energy usage. When a customer reduces its energy usage by an agreed-upon amount, the utility may provide an incentive to the customer.
In some DR systems, DR aggregators mediate communication between utilities and customers. The DR aggregators generally have an agreement with the utilities to coordinate with the customers and implement DR events. Specifically, the DR aggregators identify customers that may participate in a DR event. The DR aggregators then notify the customer, assess whether the customer has complied with the energy curtailment of the DR event, and distribute incentives accordingly.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.